Improving English in Vets!

If you ask me how it was learning English on the university, I must recognize that it was very useful for me. In the university you must read and learn from many English texts because the new information these days is in this language, so it’s necessary. Before, I needed to translate all the text in English that I had to read for a test and I lost so much time in this with help from a translate web dictionary (that are not very good), so I didn´t have time to learn all that I needed to study.

The English class might be considered as a subject that it is not important for the carrier of Veterinary Medicine, but this is not true. Most of the new investigations that appear are written in English, because most investigators speak in English or the institutions for investigation have English for a language. Also all the biggest singers, scientist, politics, or important people speak this language and not always the TV or magazines had subtitles or translation. So if you don’t want to stay behind in new information of animals, you need to learn and understand the most popular language in the world.

In my opinion, the English´s classes were more interactive this time. I think that it was a great idea to put controversial topics in conversations every class. This tool pushed us to speak and express us in English. Sometimes we made mistakes or we didn´t know how to express our ideas, so the explaining of the teachers helped me so much. Also I liked that we had to do some exercises or read some themes related with the carrier so we all can speak about them. I think that the most useful tool was the blog, because I could improve so much writing and learning vocabulary.

I took English class because I needed to improve and check this language for many reasons, for example, to understand some classes, to learn from texts in English, to understand some dialogues in TV or songs, and the most important reason, because some people ask me “what does it say?” and I really don’t know. I think that it was so embarrassing because it´s suppose to be that a student that had years learning English should know very well English. I know that I need to improve more, but I think that the most important thing is to apply the things that I learned because I know that I if I don´t I will forget it all.

CHALLENGES IN VET

The Veterinary Medicine area is very difficult, especially in Chile, because we need to fight every day with so many problems. The first challenge for us is that our patients can’t tell us what it’s the problem so we need to investigate and ask to the owner what the matter with the animal.

Secondly, a big problem in veterinary it’s that almost never we can’t use good technology or have good and enough resources, because many people don´t worry about the health of them animals. In my opinion, only a few concerned people remember that animal also can be sick and have accident the same way that us and almost no one save or spend money in their animals in the same way that we worry about our health. So this is the principal factor that limits the vets to develop and emerge in a better way.

The investigation it is a low area in veterinary. We need to research and investigate more about animals. It’s missing too much to learn yet. It´s important to remember that all the biggest experiments that explained the functions of our body systems had making in animals, so in some way, we owe our lives to animals. The problem is that missing investment to continue these investigations.

In social matters, Chileans need so much to learn about animals. It unbeliever that we don´t have a good law about what it’s have animal responsibility and the animal cruel yet. I think that is important this laws because we can prevent many accidents, healthy problems, canine population control, and also identify a possible aggressive person with people or kids.

In my mind, all these problems will not resolve if the people don´t change their behavior or the way to think about this topic. If people would be like suppose to be, we will avoid more car accidents, dog bites, illness, murder dogs, and others. It’s for this reason that we need a law to make this change and also we have to remember always that we are animals too and they have necessity like us.

On mice and medicine: If a treatment Works on rodents, will it cure us?

Mus musculus is the most experimented-on creature. The most of modern pharmaceutical treatment or basic understanding of disease has involved working on a mouse. This is because they’re the smallest and easiest mammals to study in a laboratory setting – they breed quickly and are good enough for many types of study and share over 90% of their genes with humans. Also, the main biological body systems work in the same way with very similar structure and function.

However, using a mouse can never tell scientists everything they need to now. They have to replicate it in a higher animal, like a monkey, pushes it closer to becoming a reality for people. For example, an anti-ageing pill extended the mice’s life by up to 38%, but in humans this drug suppresses immunity.

When researching whether a drug works, doses on mice are sometimes higher that a safely dose for a patient, even allowing for adjustment of metabolic rate and size. In mice, the scientist objective is demonstrate an effective treatment and not always tries to make a significant reduction to test for safety before could consider upping the dose and evaluated the side-effects.

Nevertheless, 26 Nobel prizes have gone to discoveries where research on mice, including the discovery of penicillin and understanding the viruses’ roll. As well, mice useful in understanding how genes work and why they might go wrong. A recent advance, found that when two genes mutated in mice, caused autism-like symptoms affecting brain growth and sociability and this can explain the genetic human autism.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/04/medical-experiments-on-mice

In memory of “Martina”

We need to improve our faculty!

Our Veterinary faculty maybe it’s the better place to study this carrier because it has a big prestige and recognition. But not everything brighter it’s gold, and also has some bad points. For this reason I think that it’s a good new that the teachers chose a new Dean of this faculty because new people means that it will be new ideas and new projects.

In my opinion, the faculty needs to improve in various aspects. For example, I think that needs a Casino for own faculty and most big with prices more accessible for the students. Also needs to include some subject that I´m sure that are important like Ethic, especially when a graduate was the responsible for illegally pitbull fights.

If I was the dean, I will change the 4.0 rule. This consist that in all the subject you had to do a global test that named Integrative test and if you got in this test a note lower than 4.0 you have to do a “Recuperative test”. I regard that this rule it’s so unnecessary especially when the students had very good previous notes.

It’s important to mention the bigger tariff that we have to pay all the years. The worst part of this that the tariff increase every year. It not fair that a state university have this high tariff those are not possible to pay for all people. Maybe the authorities have to demand money to the government because I think that it’s responsibility of them to give the same opportunity for all of us.

It’s probably with this changes the student can be more comfortable at least for lunch, they would have more time to do other things outside the university, they would form a good mind to practice medicine and to interact to animals (essential for this carrier), and also with economic tariffs, many people very intelligent and with the capacity people will can accesses to study.

My favorite animal!

A common myth about my favorite animal is its name. The legend says that an English man asked to native people: what it’s the name of this animal? And one of them answered kangaroo (which means in their language: “I don’t understand you”).

A kangaroo is a marsupial which means that has a distinctive pouch (called the marsupium), in which females carry their young through early infancy. This is the characteristic that I love from these animals since I was little when I saw one on TV. I like this animal for many reasons.

Firstly, these animals are uncommon mammals because they finish their gestation period in their “marsupium bag” so the kangaroo mothers are so careful. Also this bag works like a transportation system that protects the little kangaroos from some predatory animals.

Furthermore, the kangaroo belongs to the family Macropodidae which means “large foot”. This characteristic explains why Kangaroos are the only large animals to use hopping as a means of locomotion.

In addition, the kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia because you can find it only in this country. It is the emblem used on the Australian coat of arms, on some of its currency, as well as by some of Australia's best known organizations like an airline.

The larger kangaroos have adapted very well to changes brought to the Australian landscape by humans. Nevertheless, many of small ones are endangered because the wild ones are shot for meat, sport, pets, and to protect grazing land for sheep and cattle.

In my opinion, this is a very bad practice because only one country has this beautiful animal, so I think that they should protect them, further more if they are the national symbol. I’d like to work educating about animal protection (not only kangaroo) specially endemic species.

Visit Santiago!

The best thing of Santiago city is that you can make too many activities and visit so beautiful places. I think that outdoor activities are the best. Also, have places to have fun and eat very well!!! Maybe this following list can be a good possibility to know great places:

1. - San Cristobal and Santa Lucia Hill
These hills are a beautiful possibility to make an outdoor activity. You can go up riding a bike, walking, climbing, and also you can get the top in a cable railway and see a big part of Santiago. Have a great see! Also, in San Cristobal hill you have the Metropolitan Zoo, Tupahue pool, the Immaculate Concepcion sanctuary and a beautiful Japanese garden. I suggest arriving in the morning and take pictures.

2. - Quinta Normal Park
This is most a familiar activity but can be a great possibility to learn much about Chile. This place has various museums inside and around its as well as green areas and a artificial lake. Chilean rail museum, the MAC, national nature history museum, culture center Matucana 100, Santiago’s library, Memory and human right museum, and others.

3. - Central Market (Mercado Central)
If you like or you want to know the best Chilean food, you have to go to Central Market. They have all the typical dishes and the plates are so big. They are so delicious!. You can taste seafood, corn’s pie, cazuela, empanadas, and to much more.

4. - Brazil
In this neighborhood you can see the old Santiago’s infrastructure. You can feel that you travel in a past machine. Also you have many restaurants and pubs where you can eat, dance, drink and have fun.

5. - Forestal Park
This is the most traditional place in Santiago. This is in the middle of the city next to the historic center (near of Arm’s square- Plaza de Armas). This round the Mapocho River and this place is known that you can make many activities. Al so you can found the Bellas Artes museum and Italy square (Plaza Italia).

Death Penalty

The death penalty or capital punishment is the killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment for a seriously offense or crime like kill. This type of punish is put in practice in countries like United Stated, Japan and China. This sentence was use in some characters like Saddam Hussein.

In my opinion, like the previously example, in some cases it is understandable to consider this possibility because he made so much crimes against with the humanity. I reckon that serials killer, serials rapist, incest people, some pedophile and people who had make cruel crimes (crimes against the human’s rights) maybe deserve the capital punishment. But I feel that this is a complicated topic because they could be sick (like psychiatry problems). Also I don´t believed that anyone have the rights to decide the death of another person.

To be honest, I believe that in some countries take this measure because the jails are so full with prisoners. As well the numbers of crimes at this time are increased and also the crimes are crueler. So it seems to me that this is the way that the authorities use to scare and avoid the offenses.

Finally, in my view, I am in favor with the death penalty only in some extremely cases, but in general I prefer the eternal condemn, but it’s true that is unfair that this persons are maintain with the honestly person’s money .